Sharpest a feather DE blade or a Straight

[Soopercat]

Okay, to reduce some ambiguity, when I say sharp I mean for use in shaving. I know there will be bias but that's alright. It's a friendly argument between my brother and I until one of us loses then it going to get messy. Oh and it doesn't matter which carries the edge longest, thats not in question.

regards,

gerard

[heliguy]

most of the time, the feather

[LegalEagle]

I think Feathers are just plain sharper, since that's the question. Straights may cut better for other reasons, but I don't think them being sharper is one of those reasons.

[heavydutysg135]

The feather edge is going to be sharper and harsher, it will not give a better shave though.

[Soopercat]

Thanks gentlemen, time to go knuckle up big brother!

Regards

Gerard

[heavydutysg135]

Thanks gentlemen, time to go knuckle up big brother!

Regards

Gerard

As Dale Carnegie says, there is no winner in an argument.

[Soopercat]

The feather edge is going to be sharper and harsher, it will not give a better shave though.

As Dale Carnegie says, there is no winner in an argument.

Sure, but I'm not trying to "win friends or influence people, just "believing that I will succeed, and I will" crush my brother

[heavydutysg135]

A few people have claimed to be able to achieve Feather sharpness by going up to a Shapton 30K and using some very fine pastes/newspaper. In general the Feather will be sharper though.

[Soopercat]

I see, thats an expensive stone but if you can why not. My brother and I (well I am) converting from DE shaving to straight. He had a brain fart and said the most straights are sharper than our favourite DE razor blade. Well as brothers you can't just let something like that slide without getting into it. When we where younger someone would get beat up for it (if we disagreed on anything that is). Now a pot shot or two will suffice.

regards,

gerard

[kbuzbee]

I see, thats an expensive stone but if you can why not.

Hi Gerard,

I'm "relatively" new to straights but I think you'll hear many folks don't like the shave they get if the straight is "too sharp". I haven't discovered/experienced this myself but I've read it many times. It could be several things but my guess is, with a Feather the blade is held at a fixed distance to the skin. Not the case with a straight, so the blade can keep 'going in' With a straight, it's at least as much about technique as sharpness and guys get a better shave with a smoother, less "sharp" blade so why take it to that level. There is considerable discussion about the relative "merits" of going beyond a .5 paste (be that . .25 or whatever). The bottom line seems to be to get it as sharp as you need to to get a decent shave. Period.

Good luck with your brother

Cheers,

Ken